Mailafia: This country is indeed sick


I am not sure how many out there remember the dust raised by Mallam Nasiru el-Rufai, Governor of Kaduna State in December 2016 when he alleged that his government had paid off Islamic Fulani cattle herdsmen so that people in the predominantly Christian communities in the southern parts of his state should not be attacked and killed. Then the killings in the Christian communities had devastated Gidan Waya, Dogon Fili and many more villages. Several other villages had followed on a daily basis with serious consequences after that.

The reports had further indicated that he was alleged to have told the Fulani herdsmen that he is the “new governor who is Fulani like them and has no problem paying compensations for lives lost and he is begging them to stop killing.” Governor el Rufai’s claim was hinged on the fact that “the move to pay off the Islamist attackers was initiated by the late governor of the state, Patrick Yakowa, a Christian who died in a controversial helicopter crash in December 2012”. Yakowa is not alive to defend himself against this weighty allegation.

Let us admit for a moment that he was the initiator of the pay-not-to-attack-Christians, except those who are privy to the agreement, no one is aware of the price tag; for which it would have helped our probing. Interestingly, when the governor made the revelation he did not state how much he had paid and to which specific Fulani groups.

That also happened in Katsina. Nigerians are witnesses of the process of integrating ‘repentant terrorists while we presently have several of their victims in pitiable IDP conditions. We do not think that providing money and dealing softly with the terrorists may help our cause; rather it is one of the reasons we are where we are today; so long as we don’t know the extent of our ill-health as a nation.

In el-Rufai’s words as alleged: “In most of the communities, once that appeal was made to them, they said they have forgiven. There are one or two that asked for monetary compensation. They said they have forgiven the death of human beings, but want compensation for cattle. We said no problem, and we paid some. As recently as two weeks ago, the team went to Niger republic to attend one Fulani gathering that they hold every year with a message from me.”

The grudge according to el-Rufai stemmed from the “loss of their cattle and lives of Fulani lost in the 2011 elections violence, which Muhammadu Buhari then lost to President GoodLuck Jonathan and northern Muslims went on rampage attacking Christians and destroying churches. Both Christians and Muslims were killed in the unrest”, but the target was against those Christians who had voted Jonathan as President.

We believe strongly that the governor’s claim no doubt must have raised serious security questions over the competence or otherwise of the Nigerian security agencies to protect lives and properties, but more importantly on the motive behind compensating the killers.

What we stated above is to situate the allegations raised by no other person than the cerebral economist, Dr. Obadiah Mailafia and why justice must be the basis for all security invitations. Mailafia is well grounded to get himself out of the quagmire; he does not need lesser person such as yours sincerely to make further explanations.

It must be stated that when the security agencies want to get to the root of certain allegations, it is proper to get actors to explain. If that cannot be taken away from them, it means that every threat, like the Miyetti Allah’s which were said on national television; should not have been denied to be investigated, so long as they touch on national security. Did they not allegedly admit to being responsible for certain attacks in some communities? Were those who made such statements brought to justice, as were the communities who lost several people?

The following is what caused the invitation of the renowned central banker by the DSS in Jos on Wednesday. Dr. Obadiah Mailafia, a former Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, says repentant terrorists revealed that a serving northern governor is a Boko Haram leader. Mailafia said this on ‘Morning Crossfire’ programme on Nigeria Info Abuja 95.1FM on Monday.

The station Nigeria Info 99.3 was, on Thursday taken to task by the National Broadcasting Commission and fined for ‘Unprofessional Broadcast in the handling of the Programme, ‘Morning Cross Fire’, aired on August 10, 2020, between 8.30am and 9.00am.’ Already, the chairman of NBC Alhaji Ikra Aliyu Bilbis, has described the 6th National Broadcasting Code as an illegality perpetrated by the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, and acting Director-General of the Commission, Professor Armstrong Idachaba. Peter Afunanya, DSS spokesman, said in a statement on Friday, which we need to know that Mailafia’s “outburst” gives credence to the DSS’s alert “about desperate efforts by some notable personalities to cause a total breakdown of law and order”.

It stated that “the station provided its platform for the guest, Dr. Mailafia Obadiah, to promote unverifiable and inciting views that could encourage or incite to crime and lead to public disorder. Dr. Mailafia Obadiah’s comments on the “Southern Kaduna Crisis”, were devoid of facts and by broadcasting same to the public, Nigeria Info 99.3FM, is in violation of the following sections of the Nigeria Broadcasting Code.’

The former CBN deputy governor said he had a chat with two repentant terrorists who identified the northern governor as being a commander.

Mailafia, who was the Presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress in the last election, said the terrorists moved weapons even during the lockdown caused by the Covid-19.

He said, “Some of us also have our intelligence networks. I have met with some of the bandits; we have met with some of their high commanders, one or two who have repented. They have sat down with us not once, not twice. They told us that one of the northern governors is the commander of Boko Haram in Nigeria.

“Boko Haram and the bandits are one and the same. They have a sophisticated network. During this lockdown their planes were moving up and down as if there was no lockdown. They were moving ammunition, moving money, and distributing them across different parts of the country.”

He added, “They are already in the South, in the rain forests of the South. They are everywhere. They told us that when they finish these rural killings, they will move to phase two. Phase two is that they will go into urban cities, going from house to house killing prominent people. I can tell you, this isn’t kidding. By 2022 they want to start a civil war in Nigeria’.

The above are what could be called of the sins of Mailafia: For revealing what many Nigerians have always said about the security situation in most parts of the nation. There is no way that anyone can close his eyes to them; except if we are saying that someone is benefiting from their occurrence in our communities.

Recently the United States of America warned Nigeria of the presence of Islamic State of West Africa Province (ISWAP) in the troubled North West of the country but what is worrisome which Nigerians have not heard anything about investigation is that a member of the Sahara Strategy Group, (SSG) called the Nigerian Federal Government to look into the report that the Muslim Rights Concern, (MURIC) has received 250,000 dollars from the same organization which allegedly may be aimed at promoting terrorism in southern Nigeria.


MURIC has since denied the allegations. At a recent conference held in Ivory Coast San Lous Keita, member of the SSG from Mali and former Intelligence Chief had alleged that reports available to the intelligence community in West Africa listed MURIC as one of the groups that has received funds from ISWAP in the last two years. So far in the last few months MURIC has received some 250, 000 dollars from ISWAP.

The position of the Governors of the 19 northern states calling on security agencies to thoroughly investigate allegations made by a former deputy governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Dr Obadiah Mailafiya that one of them is a Commander of the Boko Haram sect is not out of place. If they are concerned about the ‘weighty allegations’ as the statement stated; this is the time to take the allegations seriously.

There is no state in the north which has not had a share of the killings by the terrorists. All the states are reeling from the effects of the pounding received from them; and for which their communities will take long to get out of such. In one of such states, the governor was reported to have openly negotiated terms on how his state can be spared of the constant attacks. Several of such governors may have willingly ‘abandoned’ the development of their states as a result of paucity of funds taken away to ensure that their communities are free from attacks by the marauding terrorists

What we need as the governors have interrogated is for ‘all citizens with useful information on the activities of criminals and terrorist groups to assist security agencies and governments at all levels with such intelligence for proper action’. The insinuations associated with Mailafia’s revelations are grave to the extent that we understand the pains being experienced by the victims of terrorism. The colour it has taken speaks volume, but having made the revelations, methinks it is about time the security got to work to avert what he said is planned for 2022.